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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Lake Creek (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Lake Creek. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Lake Creek ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Creek: Lk. Creek

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lake Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lake Creek.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Lake Creek is located in Franklin County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.

Below are the counties that are near Lake Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Creek:

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Lake Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Plumfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Plumfield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
    • Cambon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cambon is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
    • Zeigler
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orient
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Royalton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • West Frankfort
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
    • Christopher
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Deering City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Deering City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
    • Buckner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Mulkeytown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Coello
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • North City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • North City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Macedonia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Flint
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Flint is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Walpole
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Walpole is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
    • Lovilla
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
    • Dahlgren
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Diamond City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
    • Dale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • McLeansboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • De Soto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Elkville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hallidayboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
    • Dowell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Carbondale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Vergennes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Murphysboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Oraville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Makanda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pomona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Ava
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ava is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ava <1>
    • Gorham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Emerson City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
    • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
    • Ina
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Ina is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <1>
    • Nason
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Nason is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nason <1>
    • Scheller
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Dareville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Dareville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
    • Bonnie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Waltonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Marcoe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
    • Belle Rive
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Opdyke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Eagle Point Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
    • Deer Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
    • Egyptian Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
    • Goreville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • New Burnside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ozark
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Buncombe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Reynoldsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Du Quoin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Du Quoin is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
    • Saint Johns
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Johns is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Sunfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunfield is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
    • Pyatts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pyatts is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
    • Tamaroa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinckneyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Denmark
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Denmark is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Conant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Conant is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Pope County
    • McCormick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • McCormick is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Cornerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cornerville is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
    • Galatia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Long Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Long Branch is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Carrier Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
      • Former names for Carrier Mills:
      • Carriers Mills
      • Morrilsville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
    • Stonefort
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Buena Vista
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Buena Vista is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Ledford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ledford is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
    • Liberty
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Liberty is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Raleigh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Harrisburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Gaskins City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Gaskins City is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
    • Muddy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Water Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Water Valley is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
    • Lick Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lick Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
    • Alto Pass
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cobden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Du Bois
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Radom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Radom is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radom <1>
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.
    • Freeman Spur
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Freeman Spur has also been known as:
      • Freeman Spur village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <1>
    • Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
    • Herrin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Herrin is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,625 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herrin <1>
    • Stiritz
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Stiritz is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
    • Colp
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Colp is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Former name for Colp:
      • Colpville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <1>
    • Johnston City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Blairsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Blairsville is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
    • Bush
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bush is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
    • Dewmaine
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
    • Energy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Energy is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Energy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,086 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Energy <1>
    • Hurst
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hurst is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurst <1>
    • Cambria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Creek.

Cemeteries Near Lake Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Creek.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Lake Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.

  • Freeman Spur Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • San Carlo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Carlo Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Carlo Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Herrin.
    • The San Carlo Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Carlo Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108121 <2>
  • Denning Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Zeigler Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Follis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Dawson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hanes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Butler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Vaughn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Browning Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Miners Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (481 more) ...
    • Wells Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Miners Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • St. Aloysius Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

While we didn't find Lake Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Creek.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Creek, with the one closest to Lake Creek listed first.

  • Plumfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Plumfield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
  • Christopher
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Blairsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Blairsville is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
  • Frankfort
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Frankfort is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
  • Buckner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mulkeytown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Carterville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Crainville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Crainville is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
  • Fredonia ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Fredonia is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
  • Bainbridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
  • De Soto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Marion
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marion is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,417 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
    • Smothersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
    • Benton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Creek.

Newspapers Published in Lake Creek ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Creek, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Lake Creek:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Lake Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.